#ItsTheLittleThings by Nicki Gilbert: It happens: it feels as though the world is going to hell in a hand basket. Ebola, war, friends with cancer, kids with challenges, marriages falling apart. Remembering the little things is what keeps us whole. Nicki is one of my favorite people. I think you’ll love what she has to say.

The Default Parent by M. Blazoned: Are you the one the kids run to when they scrape a knee, need help with homework or want a braid in their hair? Are you the one who signs all the forms and permission slips, knows exactly where the shin guards are and keeps the carpool humming? Then, like me, you’re the Default Parent.

Scarier Than Ebola by Frank Bruni: You know what’s scarier than Ebola? The spread of whooping cough, measles and other previously eradicated, and potentially fatal, diseases. Vaccinations anyone?

Striking a Friendship Match by Henry Alford: When you introduce two of your close friends to each other and then you catch them having a drink without you, you either feel warm and fuzzy or a little, well, left out. So, what are you going to do about it? As Alford points out, friendship preservation is a two-way street.

5 BS Excuses Parents Make for Mean Girls by Whitney Fleming: “Are we so blinded by the love we feel for our kids that we refuse to believe they are capable of unkind behavior towards someone else’s child, someone else’s little girl?” Sometimes, girls are just plain mean. Let’s make sure we’re not making up – or accepting – excuses for bad behavior.

The Gift of Presence by Katrina Kenison: A gorgeous, spot on piece by Katrina Kenison: “…it’s never what we do that matters, but rather, how we do it. The secret ingredient isn’t ambition, but love. We make a gift of our lives, of ourselves, in simple ways – by being kind, by being compassionate, by paying attention, by being useful in whatever way we can, wherever we happen to be, in whatever time we have.”